JP2003196176A - Communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a communication device that allows a user to easily perform device setting from an external device. A control unit of a communication device includes a communication unit.
When an e-mail requesting the device setting form data is received from the client terminal 2 via the client terminal 2, the setting data is read from the storage unit 12, the device setting form data in the HTML format is generated, and the e-mail address of the reply destination is added. It is transmitted from the communication unit 13 as an electronic mail to the request source.
In the client terminal 2, device setting can be performed using a device setting form graphically displayed by a browser or the like that is normally used. Then, the input / edited device setting form data may be returned to the communication device 1 by e-mail. The communication device 1 receives the input / edited device setting form data and performs device setting.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication device capable of external device setting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Traditionally, in order to perform equipment settings,
The operation was performed from the operation panel or the like provided on the device. However, a communication device capable of performing device setting from an external device has been developed due to its complexity and low operability due to limited keys on the operation panel. As a conventional method for setting devices from an external device in this way, for example, in a facsimile device, a method of setting devices by using a telephone line used for facsimile communication has been developed. However, a dedicated external device that can communicate with the communication device is usually required, and if the manufacturer or model of the communication device is different, another external device is needed or the external device needs to be modified. Therefore, there is no external device that can be easily used by the user of the communication device for device setting.

In recent years, communication devices such as Internet facsimile machines capable of communicating via a network have been developed. As described above, in a communication device capable of communicating via a network, device setting has become possible from an external device using the network.
As one method used when setting the device, for example, using the e-mail transmission / reception function that a communication device such as an internet facsimile device normally has, describe the device setting information in a specific format in the e-mail, There is a method of setting the device by causing the communication device to receive the electronic mail. However, in the conventional device setting method using e-mail, the command for setting the device must be described in a specific format as described above in the e-mail for device setting, and general users can easily describe it. It wasn't possible. Therefore, the device setting method using this e-mail has not been such that the user can easily set the device.

As another method used for making device settings, for example, a communication terminal has a function as a WEB server and a browser provided in an external device is used to access the communication device to open a setting page. , The settings are done. According to this method, the user can easily perform device setting by using an external device such as a terminal connected to the network without operating the operation panel of the communication device. In addition, the setting items and the like can be displayed graphically on the browser, and the user can easily perform the setting.

However, since the setting page is downloaded by directly accessing the communication device and uploaded again, there are cases where the terminal cannot access the communication device. For example, if a terminal connected to an external network tries to set a communication device in the intranet, access is denied by the firewall and device setting cannot be performed. Therefore, the method of directly accessing the communication device using a browser is
It was not always an effective means.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that allows a user to easily perform device setting from an external device. is there.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in a communication device, a communication means capable of transmitting and receiving an electronic mail via a network and a device setting form data described as a structured document are generated and transmitted by an electronic mail. It is characterized by comprising control means for updating the device setting based on the device setting data transmitted from the communication means and received by electronic mail by the communication means. With such a configuration, the external device can be used as long as it has an environment in which the structured document can be edited. For example, if the device setting form data is described in HTML or XML, it is possible to perform reference and data input using a commonly used browser, etc., and the user can easily use external devices. You can configure the device settings. Further, by transmitting and receiving by e-mail, even a communication device in the intranet, for example, can set the device from another network and the convenience of the device setting from the outside is not impaired. further,
Since the device setting form data is sent from the communication device,
Even for communication devices of different models, it is possible to perform device settings from the same external device, and there is also an advantage that it is not necessary to prepare external devices for making settings for each model.

[0008] The electronic mail address of the reply destination can be specified in the device setting form data transmitted from the communication device to the external device for setting the device. As a result, it is possible to use, for example, the e-mail address that is the sender of the device setting form data and the e-mail address that is the reply destination are different.

Further, when the device setting form data is generated, by embedding the current device setting data, it is possible to confirm the current setting data in the external device and easily perform the device setting.

[0010]

1 is a block diagram showing an example of a communication system including a communication device of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a communication device, 2 is a client terminal, 3 is a mail server, 4
Is a network, 11 is a control unit, 12 is a storage unit, and 13 is a communication unit. The communication device 1 is configured as a device that executes various functions, and device settings for executing various functions can be externally set using electronic mail. Therefore, the communication device 1 has at least an e-mail transmission / reception function.

The communication device 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12,
The communication unit 13 and the like are included. Control unit 11
Controls the entire communication device 1 and executes various functions in accordance with the setting data stored in the storage unit 12. Also,
To enable external device settings, for example, HTML
A function of generating device setting form data described as a structured document such as XML or XML and transmitting the same from the communication unit 13 by e-mail and updating the device setting according to the device setting data received by the communication unit 13 by e-mail. Have When the device setting form data is generated, the setting data stored in the storage unit 12 and the data obtained from various auxiliary devices are acquired, and the current device setting data is converted into the device setting form data. It can be embedded. Further, in the device setting form data to be transmitted, it is possible to specify the e-mail address of the reply destination.

The storage unit 12 is composed of various storage media such as a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, etc., and can store various data that need to be stored in the communication device 1. Of course, it is also possible to store temporarily used data, a program for operating the control unit 11, or the like. All or part of the setting data set for the communication device 1 can be stored in the storage unit 12. The setting data may be stored in an area that is not erased even when the power is turned off.

The communication unit 13 communicates via the network 4. In particular, it has a communication function in accordance with a communication procedure such as SMTP and POP for transmitting and receiving electronic mail in cooperation with the control unit 11. That is, when sending an electronic mail, the electronic mail is sent to the mail server 3 via the network 4 by SMTP. When receiving an electronic mail, the POP inquires of the mail server 3 via the network 4 whether the electronic mail has arrived. If the electronic mail has arrived, the electronic mail is received.

The network 4 is composed of, for example, a LAN or the Internet, and various devices other than the communication device 1 are connected thereto. In FIG. 1, as an example, a mail server 3 that belongs to the same domain as the communication device 1 and a client terminal 2 that performs device settings are illustrated.
The mail server 3 delivers the e-mail sent from the communication device 1 to the mail server of the destination domain, and stores the e-mail addressed to the client in the domain sent from another mail server and makes a request. Deliver accordingly. Further, the client terminal 2 is a network device capable of communicating at least via the network 4, and may be any device as long as it can send and receive electronic mail and display and edit received data.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an operation at the time of device setting in an example of a communication system including the communication device of the present invention. An example of the case where the device setting of the communication device 1 is performed from the client terminal 2 using the communication system as described above will be described. When the client terminal 2 attempts to set the device of the communication device 1, first, the client terminal 2 transmits an electronic mail requesting the transfer of the device setting form data to the communication device 1. The format and content of the e-mail requesting the transfer of the device setting form data may be determined in advance and is arbitrary.

In the communication device 1 which has received the electronic mail requesting the transfer of the device setting form data, HTML or X
The device setting form data in a structured document format such as ML is generated. Only if the sender of the e-mail authenticates whether or not the user has the authority to set the device, and the request is from the user who has the right to set the device,
It may be configured to generate the device setting form data.

When the device setting form data is generated, for example, when the device setting form data is described in HTML format, it is not limited to simply listing the settable items, but it is easy for the user who uses the device setting form data to understand. It is possible to devise the layout and display method. Further, for example, even a setting item that is internally stored as a numerical value can be described so as to assist the user in setting, such that the user can select and input with a description that is easy to understand.

As the device setting form data to be generated, for example, the setting data stored in the storage unit 12 is read out, or the setting state and status are further acquired from each unit in the device (not shown) to obtain the device setting form data. It can be embedded inside. Further, it is possible to include a reply destination address to be returned after the device setting.

The generated device setting form data is
At, the communication unit 13 transmits the electronic mail to the sender of the electronic mail requesting the transfer via the network 4. The device setting form data may be sent as the body of the email or as an attachment file. After the e-mail is sent to the mail server 3, if the domain including the destination is different from the domain of the mail server 3, the e-mail is transferred to the mail server having jurisdiction over the destination. After that, an e-mail including the device setting form data reaches the client terminal 2 by making an e-mail reception request from the client terminal 2.

The client terminal 2 displays the device setting form data in the received electronic mail,
You can make device settings. At this time, the device setting form data is described in the structured document format as described above, and can be easily displayed and edited by a general browser or editor. For example, when the setting data is embedded, the setting status can be referred to and the setting status can be checked only by displaying the device setting form data in the received e-mail. In particular, as described above, the communication device 1
Since it is possible to generate the device setting form data in consideration of the display form and the like, it is possible to present the setting data to the user in the client terminal 2 as intended by the communication device 1 side. .

The user inputs data to be set in the device setting form data at the client terminal 2,
Alternatively, the inserted data is updated. It is not necessary to input data for all items, and data may be input or updated only for items to be set.

When the input update of the setting data is completed, the device setting form data after the input update is transmitted to the communication device 1 as an electronic mail. At this time, when you receive an e-mail containing device setting form data,
If it contains an email address to reply to,
Using the e-mail address, the device setting form data after the input update can be returned as update data. Return of the device setting form data after this input update can be done by operating the "setting" button etc. provided in the device setting form data,
It is also possible to describe the device setting form data.

In the communication device 1 which has received the e-mail containing the update data, the contents are analyzed and the update data for each setting item is acquired and stored in the storage unit 12 as the setting data. The operation change is instructed based on the updated setting data. Alternatively,
For example, the device may be reset, and the communication device 1 may be initialized according to the updated setting data. It should be noted that only if the sender of the e-mail authenticates whether or not the user has the authority to set the device, and the update data is from the user who has the right to set the device, the setting change Can also be configured to do.

In this way, the device setting for the communication device 1 can be performed in the client terminal 2 using the electronic mail. At this time, since e-mail is used, even if the communication device 1 is a device in a system protected by a firewall, device setting can be performed from the outside. Further, if the client terminal 2 can refer to and edit an e-mail, no special hardware or software is required, and device settings can be performed by a commonly used browser or editor. In addition, the device setting form data is HTM
By describing as a structured document such as L, the client terminal 2 can easily perform device setting by using a visual man-machine interface.
Further, by embedding the setting data at that point in the device setting form data, the device setting can be confirmed remotely on the client terminal 2.

The above-described operation example will be described using a specific example. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an electronic mail including device setting form data, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of device setting form data. In FIG. 2 described above, when an electronic mail requesting the transfer of the device setting form data is transmitted from the client terminal 2 to the communication device 1, the communication device 1 that has received this electronic mail, as shown in FIG. 4, for example. Generate device setting form data in HTML format. In this example, the device setting form data for performing the network setting of the communication device 1 is shown.
Some are omitted. The layout is set so that each input item is displayed in a tabular format. Further, as shown by the arrow in the figure, the reply e-mail address is included.

The generated device setting form data is
At, the communication unit 13 transmits the electronic mail to the sender of the electronic mail requesting the transfer via the network 4. An example of the email sent is shown in FIG. Here, the device setting form data is attached to the e-mail (in this example, the file name is "FormS").
sample. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the device setting form data is encoded by MIME or the like.

The client terminal 2 decodes the device setting form data by receiving the e-mail as shown in FIG. 3, and the file name "FormSam".
ple. The user may display the device setting form data by a general browser or the like. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the display form of the device setting form data. By displaying the HTML data in a browser, the display screen is presented to the user, for example, as shown in Fig. 5. The layout of the display screen is used when the device setting form data is generated on the communication device 1 side. Described in the HTML data, it is possible to present the setting data to the user as intended on the communication device 1 side.

On this screen, the user inputs an IP address or the like. It should be noted that it is possible to configure so that only the necessary items are input, such as leaving the items that may be left as they are currently set blank. It suffices that the communication device 1 side negotiates the process for the blank. After inputting the required data, the setting is completed by clicking the "Set" button shown at the bottom of FIG.

When the user clicks the "setting" button, an e-mail containing the input setting data is displayed.
It is automatically sent to the email address of the reply destination, which is underlined in FIG. 4 (in FIG. 2). This e-mail address is the same as the sender of the device setting form data in this example, but is not limited to this.
The communication device 1 that has received the e-mail transmitted from the client terminal 2 analyzes the content, acquires update data for each setting item, and performs device setting.

In this way, the device setting form data is requested from the communication device 1, the device setting form data in the received e-mail is displayed by a general browser, etc., and the data is properly input to "set". With the click of a button, you can make remote device settings. In the client terminal 2, communication using the network 4 is possible and a general browser or the like may be provided, and the device setting of the communication device 1 can be performed remotely without using special software or the like.

In the specific example described above, the device setting form data sent from the communication device 1 to the client terminal 2 does not include the current setting data.
It is also possible to embed the current setting data in the HTML data shown in. In this case, since the current setting data is displayed when the user displays it by a browser or the like, the current state can be referred to. At the same time, the device setting can be performed while referring to the current state, and the setting data can be easily input. Also,
It is possible to make corrections in units of one digit or one character, and it is possible to reduce the trouble of inputting setting data. Further, in the above-described specific example, the case where the network setting is performed has been described, but of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and remote device setting can be similarly performed for any device setting item.

In the above-described operation example shown in FIG. 2 and the specific example described thereafter, the electronic mail requesting the device setting form data is transmitted from the client terminal 2 when the device setting is performed. Not limited to this, for example, the user can operate the communication device 1 to send the device setting form data to a desired destination (e-mail address), or both can be used together. .

Further, the communication device 1 and the client terminal 2
Exists in the intranet or is directly connected by a small LAN or the like, the mail server 3 does not exist, or H
In some cases, it may be more convenient to use a protocol such as TTP. In order to deal with such a case, it is possible to configure the device setting by a protocol such as HTTP. In this case, it may be configured to determine whether the request for the device setting form data is received by e-mail or HTTP, and generate and return the device setting form data according to the protocol of the requesting party. it can. For example, when a request for device setting form data is received by e-mail, the device setting form data for e-mail is generated and returned as in the above-described operation example. When a request for the device setting form data is received by HTTP, the device setting form data may be generated and sent back to the request source so that the device setting form data after setting change can be returned by HTTP.

The communication device 1 may be any communication device, for example, a device having a copying function, an internet facsimile device having a facsimile communication function, and various other network devices.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, an electronic mail is used when setting a device, so that the device setting can be remotely controlled from anywhere, for example, from outside a firewall. Remote maintenance can be performed. Also, since the device setting form data is described as a structured document, no special hardware or software is required for the external device operated by the user, and the device setting data can be easily input and edited by the visual interface. It is possible to perform, and there is an effect that operability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a communication system including a communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an operation at the time of device setting in an example of a communication system including the communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an electronic mail including device setting form data.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of device setting form data.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a display form of device setting form data.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 ... Communication device, 2 ... Client terminal, 3 ... Mail server, 4 ... Network, 11 ... Control unit, 12 ... Storage unit,
13 ... Communications department.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A communication means capable of transmitting and receiving an electronic mail via a network, and a device setting form data described as a structured document is generated and transmitted from the communication means by an electronic mail, and the electronic means is used by the communication means. A communication device comprising a control means for updating device settings according to device setting data received by mail. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control means specifies an e-mail address of a reply destination in the device setting form data to be transmitted. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit embeds current device setting data when generating the device setting form data.